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NYC Voters Oppose Congestion Toll Pricing

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Jan 18, 2007 9:43 am US/Eastern

NYC Voters Oppose Congestion Toll Pricing

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: Voters are against charging different amounts for rush hour in area tolls.
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More than half of New Yorkers polled say traffic congestion is a "very serious" problem but most oppose fees for Manhattan rush-hour driving.

While 55 percent said the traffic was a real problem, 60 percent said they oppose "congestion pricing," a fee for driving below 60th Street during rush hour, according to a poll released Thursday. Thirty-one percent were in favor of the pricing.

Only 24 percent of those polled said they usually drive into Manhattan; 67 percent said they use mass transit.

It was reported last week that more than half the car commuters jamming Manhattan come from the city itself -- not from out-of-towners. Some die-hard drivers said their cars were simply more convenient and less crowded than public transportation.

Thursday's poll found 49 percent didn't buy the argument that congestion pricing would help the city's economy because traffic wastes billions of dollars a year in lost time. Forty-two percent agreed.

By a narrow margin, 48 percent to 45 percent, respondents said congestion pricing would improve mass transit because higher demand would lead to increased service.

"Proponents are going to have a hard sell on congestion pricing. But if Mayor Bloomberg weighs in with his 75-16 percent approval rating, he does have political capital to spend on tough causes," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Fifty-seven percent of poll respondents said congestion pricing would unfairly tax people who live outside Manhattan. Thirty-seven percent disagreed.

On the topic of whether the city's free East River crossings should be tolled, New Yorkers overwhelming said they were against it, with 78 percent saying no and 17 percent saying yes.

"New Yorkers see the free bridges as city streets and don't want to place a price tag on the right to drive," Carroll said.

The poll, conducted Jan. 9-15, surveyed 1,013 New York City registered voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.